New Beginnings
by lilkawa
Summary: Eight years after their first meeting Anne Elliot and Frederick Wentworth meet again. Will they get another chance to work it out? Modern persuasion
1. Chapter 1

Decided to give modern Persuasion a go, still thinking about how to go about _Without Hope_

Hope you like it.

**Special thanks go to Miriam1 for reading and rereading. Thank you very much.**

**New Beginnings**

Anne Elliot was tired; it had been a long day, but then all days were long, these days. She'd lost the case, and Mrs. Philips had lost her children. All because of one Frederick 'Hotshot Lawyer' Wentworth; the man hadn't even bothered to show up in court.

Wentworth, Wentworth and Croft, attorneys at law, called themselves a _pro bono_ firm; well, Anne knew better. They pretended to do good in order to get tax breaks and look good. This time, they had gone too far, and Anne wasn't going to let them get away with it. 'I'm writing him a letter and sending it to everyone.' It will probably not mean a thing to Mr. Hotshot Lawyer but she would feel better.

'I ought to find another job,' she told herself, 'somewhere with better pay and better outcomes. Social work is definitely not for the faint hearted, and working with abandoned children was worse. Maybe Mary and Elizabeth are right, I need a life of my own and stop watching other people live theirs.'

Elizabeth and Mary were Anne's sisters, and although she knew they wanted what they thought was best for her, money and more money, they didn't understand her at all. As for her father, he was only interested in having a good time, and as long as the trust their grandfather had put in place could still keep them rolling in the good life to which they accustomed, nothing mattered to him.

The only person in her family who Anne could talk to was her aunt, Stevie Russell. Aunt Stevie wasn't really their aunt, but she had been their mother's best friend as well as being their neighbor and was more often than not in their house.

Anne walked back dejected to her flat, and kicked off her shoes. 'Finally I can rest.' After taking the children back to the home she had been too worn out to go back to the office and had gone to library and picked up some novels to cheer her up. 'I will leave Hotshot a message, 'she said to herself, 'and tomorrow I will go and see him.'

Anne's phone rang; it was Elizabeth urging to go home to the palatial mansion in which they'd grown up, where Elizabeth still lived with their father. Mary was married with two children and also lived near their home. Anne thought of brushing off her sister, but knew that if she didn't go there now, then tomorrow would be an even longer day than today.

She walked into the sitting room and found her father, Elizabeth, Mary and aunt Stevie standing.

"It can't be that bad," she joked.

"Well, it's certainly worse than you think," her father said.

"What?" Anne was getting worried; 'well,' she thought to herself, 'it can't be a death in the family, so I can bear it.'

"As you well know," William Elliot began, "I was left in charge of your grandfather's trust, as the executor," he paused and looked at all of them, then he swallowed, "anyway I took it upon myself to make some investments like I've always done, take some money out to make more money, thing is I lost the money."

Anne had been thinking something along those lines since her father had began speaking but still she was shocked. Elizabeth swooned and fell into the chair while Mary looked at her father in shock and Aunt Stevie smiled at him encouragingly.

"What exactly does that mean?" Anne asked her father.

"I talked to the lawyers and the bankers already," he replied, as though he'd done something clever, "we've lost nearly everything."

"Dad, what does that mean?" Anne asked her father again.

"As you know," he explained, "the money that was meant for Mary became hers irrevocably once she got married. As for the money apportioned to you, Elizabeth, and myself from father's will... Well, the apportioned money was placed into separate accounts that were designated for each of us. But as I set up the accounts, my name is on all three of them

"Unfortunately, I have been dipping into your funds for the last few years; this house does require a lot of work as well as our recreational activities." Of course, he meant the twice-a-year holidays that he and Elizabeth had, as well as redecorating the house whenever Elizabeth felt like, as well as the parties they held every few months

Anne looked at her father, waiting for him to spell it out. "I managed to hold onto the house, although its upkeep will be difficult. The trust funds for Mary's children can't be touched, as per the will. All we have left is our yearly allowances of two thousand pounds."

He sat down and took Elizabeth's hand in his.

Mary walked over to join them "Daddy what are you going to do?"

"Well, since you have a husband," Elizabeth told her sourly, "your children can be assured of getting an education. As for us," she hugged her father. "I don't know how we'll manage." 

"You girls need to get paid employment," Aunt Stevie said. Anne understood this to mean that Ann should get paid employment. Elizabeth was bright enough to get a job, but their father only thought of his eldest as a debutante socialite. Anne, on the other hand, got her hands dirty on a regular basis, much to her father's chagrin. Anne's volunteer work at the social centre had always been a sore point in the family.

Her father had told her countless times, 'Imagine me telling my friends that my daughter works,' with disdain dripping from his every word, 'moreover in _that place_ ' He said it like she worked amongst the unworthy unwashed masses, as he thought of her clients. 

Anne had been adamant: it was her life, and she would live it as she saw fit, as long as she could afford it. Having a trust fund made it easy for her to do volunteer work, but now that her father and sister squandered away her inheritance, she wasn't so sure it would be possible to continue as she had been going. 

What am I going to? She asked herself, I guess it's time to get that teaching job I've always wanted get.

The others seemed to have made a decision while she was thinking and she turned to them.

"Anne, you should sell your flat" Aunt Stevie told her "to help with the household expenses here. Move back here, it's the only logical solution. In that stead I already put it on the market." Anne looked at her aunt in shock, "you already what? When? When were you going to tell me?"

"Your father and I already made this decision," she was informed, "your things will be returned tomorrow, and then you can set about finding a job."

Anne had _borrowed_ some of her money to buy a flat. Her father had been angry with her decision, pointing out that the house was big enough for all of them but Anne had wanted to assert her independence _and_ to get away from Elizabeth and her father. Unfortunately, as with all things money related, the flat wasn't in her name but her father's and he had the title to it as well. "Secure in the vault," he informed her when she had asked him for it. 'I bet they just couldn't wait to take even that from me,' she thought angrily.

Elizabeth had a degree in marketing but since she had never worked a day in her life it was a foregone conclusion that she wouldn't be starting now, as for Mary, she was a housewife.

Anne looked at her relations and excused herself. Today is officially the worst day of my life, worst day ever.

Frederick Wentworth was tired; he'd had to travel out of country to meet a client, all because he was the unmarried one. His partners, Edward and Richard, had voted that he make the journey to Wales. Thankfully, the meeting had been a success and they had made over a million pounds from the deal. In addition, he'd been able to take an extra day off and spend it with his friend Harry Harville and his family in Birmingham, before returning to London later that evening.

All he wanted was his bed

He had a message on his answering machine.

_Frederick Wentworth, this is Beth and Lily's social worker, we've never met but honestly I don't see how you can call yourself a decent man. You were supposed to appear in court today to ensure a woman who has been working to regain control of her life gets her children back. You didn't show up, I know this is not your usual clientele but you made a promise. Guess we know that your word is worth -_

The machine cut off the rest of the message.

Frederick sat up, he had forgotten, he had forgotten the Philips case. He had promised Lucy Philips that they would get the children today and he had forgotten.

He had forgotten.

'I have to get my head into the game,' he thought, 'it's been eight years. Eight years.'

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	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for reading and reviewing.**

**Miriam1, I have no words.**

**Eight Years Ago**

Anne was 21, she had just graduated from university with an honours degree in education, and life was good. The only blight on her perfect life was the fact that her mother wasn't alive to share this joy with her.

William Elliot decided to take the whole family away on holiday, to the seaside, a little sea air would do them well. Aunt Stevie joined them on their seaside adventure; they rented a villa with three bedrooms. The only downside was the fact that the girls had to share a room; they weren't good at sharing anything. Mary always required more space while nothing was good enough for Elizabeth; this meant that Anne was left with whatever her sisters didn't want.

The first week was quiet and uneventful; they swam and lounged in the sun. The second week brought neighbours, two young men. These men Elizabeth discovered were taking a week long holiday before going back to work; one was a lawyer and the other an accountant, their names were Frederick, (please call me Fred) and Harry. Elizabeth monopolized their attention and luckily for her, Anne and Mary weren't interested in meeting the boys next door.

Two days after Fred and Harry's arrival, Anne was walking on the beach; it was early, and she was usually the only one up at that time. She waded into the water, thinking.

"Hi," a voice said to her.

"Hi." she turned and saw one of the boys from next door.

"We haven't met, I'm Fred," he said.

"Anne."

"So you're Elizabeth's sister," he said.

She nodded.

"Mind if I join you?" he asked.

"No, feel free," she replied.

Anne and Fred walked along the beach. At first they were silent, and then Fred began to tell her about his work. His brother and their brother-in-law had begun a law firm and they wanted him to join them, since it was a family business and all. The firm dealt with corporate law. Anne told him about her dreams of becoming a teacher, a secondary school teacher, where the children are not too young but not too old either. She would teach literature.

They talked for about two hours until Anne went back to join her family for breakfast.

The next morning, Anne found Fred waiting for her outside their villa and they began to walk. Fred, she discovered, wanted to be a fiction writer and create memorable characters. Anne didn't see why he couldn't pursue his dream; surely his brother would understand.

"You have to know Edward to understand him," Fred told her, "He's a realist. To become a successful writer takes time and even then there's no guarantee that one would make it. In law, he says, I _would _make it; after all he has have done it for two years now with some success. Why mess with a good thing, is what he says. And maybe he's right."

"I can't believe you're ready to give up without even trying," Anne told him.'

"Who says I'm giving up? Who says I haven't tried?" he asked her.

"You've written a novel?" Anne was impressed.

"Sort of, a very rough draft, very rough," he replied.

"Do you have it here? Can I read it?"

Fred looked at Anne; she seemed so enthusiastic and genuinely interested. He decided to let her read the words he'd hidden from the world for a long time; he really wanted to know what she thought about his work.

At the boys' villa, he went in and brought out a notebook and gave it to her. "Please be kind. It's my first attempt." Anne smiled at him and went off to their villa. The rest of the household was still sleeping and she sat in the sitting room and read the book. It was a political thriller full of secret government plots and cover ups and of course a hint of romance. It was rough, with lots of gaps but good, he needed proper professional help, but she could see it becoming a bestseller.

She hid it under her pillow when her sisters woke up, and joined the family activities.

Elizabeth discovered Fred's book later that evening.

"What's this?" she asked waving it around.

"Nothing, put it back," Anne told her sister.

"Secret letters to secrets boyfriends," Elizabeth laughed; she was the only one of the sisters to have a boyfriend and was considered the beauty of the family.

"Give it back," Anne demanded. "It isn't mine." Anne wished she hadn't added those words because now Elizabeth was really interested in the book. She actually opened the first page and read the name Fred and the name of the novel. She closed it and threw it at Anne.

Elizabeth couldn't believe Anne had actually talked to the boys next door, when had this happened? She wondered, probably when they were still sleeping. Those boys were off limits, they were hers and her sister wasn't going to interfere with her summer romance, not if she had anything to say about it.

The next morning, Anne returned Fred's book to him full of praises and encouragement and they talked. Elizabeth watched them walk along the beach from the window. She'd actually had to cut her sleep short to catch her boyfriend thieving sister.

The boys were leaving the next day and Fred invited Anne on a date, at lunch time. Harry had met a girl as well, and they would double date. It was so much fun; Harry was a lively person full of jokes and the girl he'd met, Alicia was fun as well. Anne couldn't remember a better day. She went back to their villa with his telephone number with promises to call on either side.

Elizabeth saw her sister enter the villa and walked over to the beach pretending to be picking shells. Eventually, Fred came out; "Hi Elizabeth" he called to her.

"Hi, so you're leaving tomorrow," she said.

"Yes but coming here was one of the best decisions we've ever made. It was great fun."

"Yes, even my little sister Anne managed to have fun here," Elizabeth said.

"You say that like Anne doesn't know how to have fun," Fred said.

"Her ideas of fun are different from yours and mine." She paused "Just yesterday, she was telling me that she met this odious man, boy really." Elizabeth watched Fred's face, but there was no reaction.

She continued, "He made her read his silly book; he wants to write, _as if just anybody can write_. I told her not to be too harsh and she said she would be kind and lie to him, but that he really shouldn't waste other people's time; she'd never seen such bad writing in her life. To top it off, he wanted to date her, you know, go out together, as if he could ever be worthy of talking to her, let alone date her. Get to know her better, ha."

This time, Elizabeth got the reaction she'd been looking for, Fred's face changed he was angry but managed to control himself and smile at Elizabeth. "Your sister sure knows how to have fun." He nodded and walked off.

Anne woke early to see Fred and Harry off.

"You needn't have bothered," Fred told her, "seeing as you were just pretending to like me."

"What are you talking about?" Anne was confused.

"You pretended to like my book, spent time with me just to be polite, probably to compare with your friends. Enough Anne, you don't have to do it anymore, it's over, and we're leaving."

"Fred, please, what are you talking about?"

"Ask your sister Elizabeth, I'm sure she'll make it clear to you. Don't waste your time calling or writing. I wouldn't want to be a bother any more than necessary." He threw the card on which she'd written her phone number at her and entered the car. Harry entered the driver's side and smiled thinly at her and they left.

Anne couldn't believe what was going on; she went upstairs to their room.

"Elizabeth Victoria Elliot, what did you do?"

Elizabeth had been watching at the window, now she turned and smiled at her sister, "Anne, really there's no need to shout. It's not as if he's the first boy you've ever kissed." At Anne's expression, she added, "He is, well, you'll get over it soon enough. You'll thank me for this in future."

Anne wanted to scream at Elizabeth, but knew that it was useless. The damage was done, and Fred was gone. As for her sister, their relationship had gone from bad to worse, but eventually Anne accepted her sister for what she was, a vain unhappy person who couldn't bear to see others happy.

**Now**

Even after all these years, Anne sometimes wondered what had happened to Fred. Funny, she'd never learnt his full name, all she knew was his telephone number and that he was the most amazing kisser in the whole world. She was mad, totally mad, day dreaming about a man she'd met when she was 21, but there it was.

Anne woke early the next day and packed her bags, thinking to herself, 'this is my last morning of freedom.' She'd have to adhere to Elizabeth's rules at home. 'I really must find a job and soon.'

She went to the office; she'd forgotten all about her decision to call Frederick Wentworth and sat down at her desk.

Frederick Wentworth woke early; he had many meetings today with many important clients, but he had decided to go by the social worker's office first to apologise, and then see the judge about Lucy Philips. He would make it right.

Anne looked up as Claire rushed into their office. Claire was her best friend and her colleague; and they were both fulltime volunteers at the office. "You have a visitor, Frederick Wentworth, he's hot."

Claire led Frederick into Anne's office.

It was hard to see who was more shocked, Anne or Frederick.

Frederick recovered first. "You."

Frederick had often imagined seeing Anne again: he would be rich, successful, and famous, and she would be beneath his notice. He looked at her; she had grown a bit taller. She'd cut her hair but still had the same hauntingly beautiful face.

Anne had often imagined seeing Frederick again, dear God; he was still gorgeous and angry.

**What do you think?**

**Hope you like it. **

**Review.**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Of all the social workers to annoy, why had he chosen to annoy Anne Elliot? Frederick felt like leaving the room but he had made a promise to Lucy Philips, and so far he had let her down.

"Ms. Elliot," he began, "I'm really sorry about yesterday. Can you believe I forgot about it?"

"Of course I can," Anne replied promptly, "You were probably too busy with your mergers and takeovers to consider a poor lonely mother and her children."

Way to go Anne, she said to herself, annoy him why don't you? Ensure that the children never get to see their mother ever again.

They stood and looked at each other; then finally Anne smiled. "You're here now, so let's try and sort this mess out."

"I agree," Frederick said.

They sat at her desk and went through the documents again; Lucy Philips had been declared an unfit mother because she had left her children alone in the car while she went to work. In addition to that, she had forgotten about them when she went out for a drink and they had been found by the police. Two years later, Lucy had a job in a better time slot and a flat where she could look after the children.

"The judge already knows all this," Anne pointed out. "It's your absence that caused a problem."

"I know and I am sorry, I will talk to the judge. She's usually a reasonable person who wouldn't punish the client for the lawyer's mistakes." He stood up. "I will go to her chambers and try to sort it out. I'll call you later to tell you what transpires."

He left and Anne could breathe easily.

"Did I detect some tension in the air?" Claire asked her as they watched Frederick walk out of the building.

"No, that's just your imagination," Anne said.

"Seriously, Anne, that man was something else,"Claire said, "And if I may point out, he was clearly interested in you."

Anne shook her head but didn't bother to explain why she knew that Frederick Wentworth would never be interested in her. Her traitorous heart had almost jumped out of her rib cage when he had appeared and it had been hard to remain cool and professional. Mostly, she thought, I pulled it off, apart from that crazy moment when they had both reached for the file. She could have sworn that she was on fire and had pulled back her hand immediately. Frederick had noticed and grimaced, probably wondering what was wrong with her.

Frederick walked out of the building, thanking God that he was able to walk. He honestly couldn't remember what he had said to Anne, but judging from her responses, it had made sense and was related to the matter at hand. How could she look so good and so happy, when he was so unhappy? It was her fault that every relationship he'd had in the past eight years, including his six month-long marriage, had failed.

He had married Angelina about two years after the Anne incident and had made her so unhappy, in her turn; she had cheated on him from the very beginning. It was a testament to how much he hadn't cared for that her infidelity hadn't bothered him at all. However, their really bad divorce had left Frederick almost penniless and had threatened to take the family law firm as well. Fortunately, they had survived and after that there was no more talk of becoming a writer; he had to ensure that the firm survived, so it became his life.

He had felt the fire course through his hand when he accidentally touched Anne, and when she quickly pulled away, he had thought, 'Of course, why would she want to touch me?' He wondered if Anne was married now, of course she was, there was no reason why she wouldn't be. I have to find out, he told himself and then I will forget all about her when we finish this case.

The rest of the day was quiet. Frederick saw the judge, who was willing to reconsider and reunite the family as long as they had continued visits from the social workers. Frederick also found out that Anne was not married; neither was Elizabeth but Mary had married an old school friend Charles Musgrove.

As it turned out, even if Frederick and Anne hadn't met that morning, they would have met later that evening at the Musgroves.

Anne arrived a bit late for party at Mary and Charles' house. Charles had just been promoted and Mary just loved any excuse to throw a party; in addition, she'd told Anne there was another reason why the family was celebrating, "I'll tell you at the party." It was an informal gathering of about fifty people including all their friends and family.

Their father and Elizabeth had opted out of the engagement, saying that they had had a long standing appointment with a rather distant cousin of the Elliots' who had arrived in London just that morning.

Anne wasn't aware that Frederick and his sister and her husband, the Crofts, were in attendance until she saw them. Mary came over to introduce them. "Frederick Wentworth, my elder sister Anne"

Anne smiled at Frederick, "We've already met."

"Oh yes, Anne was the social worker on the Philips case," Frederick told this relations.

"The one who berated you for failing at your duty," Richard Croft laughed loudly.

Anne was introduced to Sophy and Richard Croft, Frederick's sister and brother-in-law.

She left them and went to join another group. Anne was thankful that Mary's parties were always buffet-style, enabling one to move from group to another. Mary followed her, almost jumping with excitement.

"You'll never believe who is back from university, engaged," she said triumphantly. There was nothing Mary liked better than news of engagements and weddings. It was her life and she was unhappy that her sisters had never married. Luckily for her, her husband had two younger sisters, Henrietta and Louisa, who looked as though they valued marriage as highly as she did; now they were of marriageable ages, being twenty-two and twenty-one, respectively.

"Anne, you are no fun at all," Mary complained, "Can't you at least pretend to be interested in my news?"

Anne turned to her sister and said, "I give in, who is engaged?"

"Henrietta."

"Henrietta is engaged to whom?" Anne was interested in spite of herself. Mary was always comparing her sisters unfavorably to her sisters-in-law; she was always saying that Henrietta and Louisa would do better than her own sisters. Tired of this comparison, Anne had soon begun to pretend disinterest in their affairs and Mary soon gave up telling her about them at every turn.

Even so, this bit of news sounded like it could be interesting. Henrietta Musgrove was engaged, little, uninteresting Henrietta, she was surprised it wasn't Louisa who _really _wanted to be married, and do everything before her older sister.

"There's a new guy at Charles's office, an IT guy, Charles something or other and his family is rich. They're related to the Rushmores, you know Lord Rushmore."

Now Anne knew the source of Mary's excitement, Henrietta's fiancé was related to some sort of aristocracy. Mary loved the aristocracy and it was the one shortcoming in her perfect marriage that Musgroves were neither royalty nor nobility, but the fact that they had money was her consolation and she loved her husband, most of the time.

Mary was called away to deal with a minor problem and Anne saw Henrietta and Louisa join the party. The girls came over and hugged her. "Anne it's so good to see you. It's been ages," Louisa said.

"Yes," Anne agreed.

"I hear congratulations are in order," Anne told Henrietta. Henrietta smiled and showed her the ring. It was a pretty ring and Anne told her so.

"Where is your fiancé, then?" Anne asked.

"He's out of the country, on business, but he'll be back in a few weeks."

Frederick was standing with Charles talking, when Henrietta and Louisa approached them. "You haven't met my sisters." Charles told him, "Henrietta and Louisa, Frederick Wentworth."

They smiled and shook hands.

"Henrietta has just got engaged to Charles Hayter," Charles continued. "You don't know him, a young fellow, good with computers, apparently."

"Congratulations." Frederick told Henrietta.

Louisa smiled at Frederick, "I hear you're an old friend of Charles's."

"Yes," Frederick agreed, "we went to school together."

"And I know I heard you're some hotshot lawyer."

"Don't believe everything you hear," he replied.

"I am going to be a fashion designer" she said.

"Really, I've met never a fashion designer before in my life." He smiled at her. He was going to have fun if it killed him, show Anne Elliot that he could have fun and had definitely moved on from her betrayal. He still couldn't believe she had said those things about him. Why had she felt that she had to pretend, why?

Louisa and Frederick hit it off and they spent the rest of the evening talking. They laughed and stood apart from everyone, and when the music was turned on they danced together.

Anne watched them from across the room, feeling very bad, sorry and a whole host of other emotions. She had known Frederick for only a few days, barely a week, yet she had fallen in love with him. She had fallen in love and had never let herself look at anyone since. She couldn't believe that seeing Frederick again could make her feel like this, she was grown woman; she shouldn't get weak-kneed over a man**. **She had many male friends, but wouldn't let anyone close, especially since Elizabeth had made it her mission to steal her boyfriends. Every time she showed interest in a man, Elizabeth became interested as well and more often than not ended up taking him, or he broke up with her because of Elizabeth.

**xxx**

Anne was sitting at her desk when the phone rang.

"Aunt Stevie," she said, thinking, 'Oh no, what now?' "What a pleasant surprise."

She wanted Anne to meet her for lunch.

Anne went for the lunch feeling very apprehensive; Aunt Stevie never met with her unless it was to give directions on how to live her life. To top it off, when she arrived at the restaurant she found that Mary was in attendance as well.

"So I hear the party went well," Aunt Stevie began, "and you met some interesting people."

Anne didn't respond, they already knew who she had met. "You know, she left a bit early." Mary told her, "There was someone I really wanted you to meet."

Aunt Stevie and Mary were both looking at her, waiting for a reaction, Anne kept silent.

"Anyway, did I mention that Charles got a new boss?" Mary asked.

"No," Anne replied wondering, what that had to do with her and this meeting.

"Yes, Frank Mosley," Aunt Stevie told her.

Frank Mosley was Anne's would-be boyfriend. She had met him after the 'Holiday Incident' and surprisingly even Elizabeth had not wanted to steal him from her. They had dated for about a month until Frank had broken it off without a reason and left the country. He'd gone to live on the Continent with his parents; Anne could honestly say that she had never thought of him since he had left.

"Yes," Aunt Stevie continued happily, "your first love is back. The only man you've ever loved," she said all this very triumphantly.

"And," Mary broke in excitedly, "word is he is still very interested in you."

"What?" Anne couldn't believe it. Frank Mosley was back and was still interested in her; that probably meant that Mary and Aunt Stevie had talked to him about her.

She was sincerely happy that Mary and Aunt Stevie had never found out about Frederick Wentworth, but she was amazed that they thought Frank Mosley was her first love; they didn't know her at all. Even Elizabeth knew her better than they did, unbelievable.

"Please tell me that you're not trying to set me up with Frank," she told them, just noticing that the table had been set for four. "I am not interested in him."

"He left in hurry because his mother was ill, and she wanted all her children with her," Aunt Stevie explained. "Anyway, she's better now but they still live in France, apart from Frank of course. He would have stayed with you if he could, but family comes first with him. This is a great trait in a husband if you ask me."

'No one's asking you,' Anne thought sourly, wondering how soon she could leave.

"Well, you're not just doing it for you," Mary informed her. "Frank is Charles's new boss. Basically, we're doing it for the good of the family."

Anne didn't have time to protest, Frank Mosley had arrived. "Be nice, smile," Aunt Stevie whispered.

"Annie, my girl," Frank smiled at her. "How nice to see you again." He made as if to kiss her lips, but Anne dodged and the kiss landed on her cheek. "Still up to your old tricks, I see."

He sat down.

Anne could honestly say that these few days had been the worst of her life. 'I have to live at home, Frederick's back and he is not interested in me, and Frank Mosley is back and is _very _interested in me. My life can't get any more interesting than this.'

'Lovely.'


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

After a few days, it seemed as though Frederick Wentworth and Frank Mosley had always been part of Anne's life. Louisa and Frederick had become an 'item' apparently, and spent all their free time together. Charles and Mary entertained all the time, and they invited Frank along to be Anne's date.

Anne watched Louisa and Frederick and was dismayed to discover that she actually felt slighted when he didn't talk to her. He could surely spare a few miserly comments, anything.

One day, after a date with Frederick, Louisa came over to the Elliots' house.

"Anne, why didn't you tell me you knew Frederick before?"

"I didn't think it was important," Anne replied, wondering why that topic had come up between them, but she couldn't resist asking, "Did Frederick mention it?"

"Yes, well, I brought it up and he made a comment like 'You had changed so much since he last knew you.' So of course I had to ask when he'd known you."

"Oh." He thought she had changed so much, was it for the better or worse?

"You changed so much he wouldn't have recognized you. Apparently, you used to have longer hair," Louisa continued.

Anne was silent. On one hand he remembered that she used to have longer hair and he had noticed that she had changed, but she thought he decided that she was probably bad different. Anne, get out of your head, she told herself. It's a scary place, get out.

Frederick Wentworth had bought a house by the seaside, and he invited his new friends for a weekend. When Frank heard from Charles that they were going away, he invited himself. Frederick was too polite to refuse especially since Charles hinted to him that Frank was Anne's boyfriend, soon to be fiancé.

Frederick couldn't believe it, Frank and Anne, it seemed impossible. What did Anne see in him, he was not bad looking but he was loud and boorish and liked to talk about the things his family owned. How could Anne like someone like that? According to Mary, they were sure to be engaged very soon. "We're sure to have at least two weddings in the family this year," she had told him with a suggestive smile, "possibly three. I love weddings; I wish they would all take place in spring or early summer."

Frederick hadn't thought much about her comments until the weekend at his house. Louisa Musgrove was acting like she was the lady of the manor, like she was his wife, or at the very least about to be. She insisted on showing everyone to their rooms, in spite of the fact that they arrived together and acted as though she had chosen the furnishings with him, which she hadn't. The Harvilles also joined them that weekend, and they came over with Harry's cousin, Matt Benwick who was staying with them.

Anne was happy to see Harry again; they both agreed that it had been too long. At first it was awkward, given what had happened the last time they had seen each other, but they soon got past it.

"I could never understand what you did that was so bad; Fred could never mention your name without throwing things."

"Well, I can only hope that age has made me wiser," Anne told him.

Harry watched her face. "So you're not going to tell me, either."

Anne shook her head. "It was a long time ago, it doesn't matter now, water under the bridge and all that."

"I've never seen Fred as happy as he was then, never, not even with his ex-wife Angie."

"Frederick was married?" Anne couldn't help the shock in her voice.

"Oh yes, and what a piece of work she was. Did a real number on him, cheated on him and then took all his money, almost took the law firm as well."

Anne felt deeply for Frederick and her eyes sought him out. He was standing with Louisa, laughing, her hands were on his arms and they were gazing into each other's eyes. Without warning, as though he could feel her gaze, he looked up at her, she quickly turned her eyes.

I wonder what Harry is telling Anne, he thought. He said something to Louisa and made his way to where Anne and Harry were.

"The years have been very kind to Anne, wouldn't you say, Frederick?"

Harry was smiling, teasing his friend.

"Yes," Frederick said, "They have."

Frederick was really happy to see his friends, and for the first time in a long time, he had a whole weekend off. The first night went very well, apart from Louisa's over-clinginess.

On Saturday, they took a walk to the beach. Mary walked with Charles, Louisa with Frederick, Harry with his wife, Anita, while Anne and Henrietta walked with Matt. Frank had opted to stay behind to take a conference call.

Frederick had an indoor pool, and after the walk, the girls decided to swim. Louisa and Henrietta were the most enthusiastic, while Anne sat by the pool with Matt, watching them. Frederick was with Harry in the next room, watching the people at the pool.

"She seems like a nice girl," Harry began. Frederick looked at him questioningly.

"Louisa." Frederick nodded.

"But now, Anne, she is a great person," Harry said.

Frederick looked at his friend. "Harry, don't start again."

"You've been given another chance, another go at it to make it right."

"No, she's with Frank. And who says I want another go at it?"

"Frank Mosley, no one can be with him, especially not Anne." Frederick didn't say anything.

Harry smiled. "Unless this Louisa thing is serious."

Frederick nearly choked. "What Louisa thing? There is nothing between Louisa and I, we're just having fun, a little harmless fun."

"Anita told me that she was sitting with Louisa and Mary yesterday, and they had all but planned your wedding. Apparently, it's to be a double wedding with Henrietta and her bloke, in summer. They are only waiting for you to ask for hand officially."

Frederick was shocked, but before he could react, they had a shout coming from the swimming pool.

Louisa had hit her head on the diving board and had fallen into the water. Matt and Anne got her out but she'd had a huge blow to her head and was unconscious.

Frederick called the doctor, and they all sat waiting for him.

The doctor said that Louisa would be fine, but she needed to rest for at least twenty four hours. Her accident put a damper on the rest of the weekend and they stayed indoors most of the time.

On Sunday evening, they drove back to London. Frederick had arranged for an emergency helicopter to take Louisa back to a hospital closest to the Musgrove's home, in Leedsand she travelled with Henrietta and Charles.


	5. Chapter 5

_Thanks to Miriam and to all of you for reading, reviewing, adding to favourites and alerts. Thank you very much. Belle I added a summary…_

_I hope it makes sense…_

Chapter Five

Elizabeth watched Anne leave the house to go to work and quickly got into her car and followed her.

The night before, while dining at Auntie Stevie's, Elizabeth had overheard Aunt Stevie and Mary talking about Anne and Frank Mosley and how to speed things up between them.

"Frank tells me that Anne won't pick up his calls," Aunt Stevie complained.

"Yes," Mary agreed, "she's returned all his gifts and refused all his invitations, even when he's shown up at her work."

"What is wrong with that girl, I wonder. I'm about to give up all hope of her ever marrying," Aunt Stevie said, "and Frank is not a bad catch at all. He's rich and not bad looking at all."

"Not to mention he's Charles's boss." Mary pointed out.

Elizabeth entered the room and the two women dropped the subject.

'So they want Anne to find a rich husband, to get married before I do, I'll show them, make them realize that Elizabeth Victoria Elliot can get any man she wants and that I will always win in any competition between Anne and I.'

Elizabeth had sneaked into Anne's bedroom while the latter was in the bathroom and taken her phone to get Frank's number. She'd also read her text messages and found one inviting Anne to lunch. She deleted it after reading it.

Elizabeth remembered Frank Mosley, he'd been Anne's boyfriend for a few weeks after the holiday; he wasn't bad looking and the only reason why Elizabeth hadn't tried to steal him then was because she'd been trying to get a marriage proposal from the younger son of some minor royalty. Unfortunately, the man's family hadn't been impressed by Elizabeth's manners and he'd broken it off and married another girl. Now Frank was back in Anne's life and he was rich.

'Let the games begin.'

000

Frank Mosley entered his office and looked at his appointment book. He had many meetings today; however, he'd asked Anne out for lunch and he was determined to keep that appointment. Although, he had to admit, he was a bit worried about her lack of response.

His co-conspirators, Mary and Stevie had assured him that despite his refusal to tell them the exact details of his 'mystery romantic date', this time Anne would show up for the date and he'd reserved a table at a very nice hotel. He'd also taken the time to get his grandmother's engagement ring and he had it with him. Today he was getting engaged. He'd almost told his parents when they'd phoned in the morning but decided to surprise them later in the day.

000

Anne had just sat at her desk when Elizabeth entered.

"Elizabeth, what are you doing here?"Anne asked her sister in shock. It was barely eight-thirty in the morning. Elizabeth never got out of bed before ten.

"I thought I'd see how the other half lives, you know. I'm thinking of looking for a job myself."

Anne looked at her sister, trying to understand why Elizabeth was _up and in her_ _office_.

"So anyway, this morning I remembered that I had a meeting with the board of _Helping Children_ at lunch time. However, something has come up and I can't possibly attend, so I thought you'd want to go since you're always badgering me about them."

Anne couldn't believe it, finally a chance to meet with the _Helping Children_ board. _Helping Children_ was a charitable foundation that their mother had helped start, it helped children especially with their educational needs: providing scholastic material, reading, writing and even funding for school.

Anne had always wanted to work with them, but Elizabeth said that since she was the eldest she would do it and had done so for years. Now she was letting Anne meet with them and be part of it; Anne knew there must be something she was missing but didn't care. She was finally going to fulfill a lifelong dream.

Elizabeth watched Anne; she was so excited it was nauseating - excited at meeting a board of stuffy old men and women to decide how much money and time they were going to devote to some stupid children. Elizabeth didn't understand her sister at all, but that didn't bother her. She had Frank Mosley all to herself, and she would get a proposal from him if it killed her.

As Elizabeth was leaving the office, Anne ran after her, "Is it ok if I go with someone for the lunch?"

For a split second, Elizabeth wondered if Anne wanted to take Frank. 'I'll kill her if she says she's taking Frank, I'll kill her dead.' She realized that Anne was still talking.

"It's just that Claire and I have always wanted to work with _Helping Children_, it will make her day if she could go with me. So will that be a problem for them?" Anne asked Elizabeth.

'Claire, she wants to take her friend Claire. Breathe Elizabeth, breathe.' Elizabeth turned and smiled at her sister. "They won't care how many you are, as long there's an Elliot present. I'll call them and tell them to expect two of you." Elizabeth could see how happy Anne was about the prospect of meeting the board. She smiled at her sister. "Be sure to have fun."

Elizabeth went shopping after that. She really didn't need a new dress but she thought, 'Why not.' She needed to make Frank Mosley forget all about Anne and see her.

000

Frank Mosley entered the restaurant and sat down at a table in the middle of the room, where he could see and be seen by everyone. He ordered champagne and the food as well. He didn't want anything, including ordering for food, to interrupt his proposal.

000

Elizabeth walked into the restaurant and saw Frank; she smiled and walked to his table. He stood up.

"Elizabeth. What a nice surprise. What are you doing here?" Frank asked.

"Frank, I'm saving you from eating all by yourself," Elizabeth told him. A waiter pulled out a chair for her and helped her sit.

"What do you mean?" Frank asked her. He didn't recall ever having mentioned his date to Mary, or Stevie, let alone Elizabeth. This, he had thought up all on his own, and sent Anne a text message.

"Well my dear sister had an important meeting that she couldn't put off today, with one of mother's charities. So here I am. I hope I am a suitable replacement."

Frank was angry; Anne had had a meeting and she hadn't even had the courtesy to send him a text saying she won't show. He had had enough of her bad manners, he would show her that other women found him attractive.

He looked at Elizabeth, and she looked really good, her short red dress showed off her long legs and he had to admit that the attention she was receiving from other men was making him feel good. Anne never wore such dresses, she was usually in jeans and cardigans, all fully covered up; _and _she had stood him up again.

He looked at Elizabeth; she was drinking the champagne and smiling at him. 'What better way to show Anne than with her own sister,' he thought.

"So Elizabeth, I guess I owe you a debt of gratitude for not letting me sit here all by myself."

"What can I say?" Elizabeth told him, "We can't have you think that the Elliots are inconsiderate people, can we?"

The food came and they ate, they sat and talked until almost three o'clock.

Frank looked at his watch, "I'm sorry Elizabeth, but I really have to go,"

She nodded at him.

"I have an important meeting that I can't put off, so shall we do this again this evening? Say about eight, I'll pick you up." He walked over and kissed her on the cheek.

Elizabeth couldn't believe how well the lunch had gone. She'd had Frank hanging onto her every word and the way he'd looked at her, he was definitely interested. 'Elizabeth Elliot, you still have it.'

Frank entered his car and thought about the lunch date. He got the ring box out of his pocket. 'Maybe I've been going after the wrong Elliot girl, Elizabeth will do, she will. After all, all I want is a pretty wife, one who doesn't work and has no opinions. Yes Elizabeth is a better choice. I wonder if it will be too soon to propose this evening.'

Frank had returned from his meeting when he found Mary and Stevie talking to Charles. The women followed him to his office. "How did you mystery plans for today go?" Mary asked him. The night before at Stevie's house, they had tried to get him to tell them his new strategy for getting Anne to go out with him. Frank had refused to share.

Now he smiled at them, "I believe I'm finally making progress." 'It's a good thing I didn't tell them my _exact _plans.' Mary was so happy she hugged him while Stevie smiled so widely. 'Mary remembered that she was hugging Frank in the office; she stepped back. The ring box fell out of Frank's pocket. The women looked at it; Frank smiled at them. "My grandmother's ring." Mary and Stevie looked at each other.

'I can't wait to tell Charles,' Mary thought and began to leave the room. 'Finally, Anne will be properly settled, to a nice rich man, of my choosing,' Stevie told herself, following Mary out of the room.

000

Frederick couldn't believe it. He read the email from Harry five times and then picked up the phone.

"Harry, please tell me that this is a joke," he told his friend. Harry was still half asleep and didn't immediately answer.

"Frederick, do you know what time it is here?"

"I'm sorry, were you asleep?" Frederick asked him sarcastically. "I just got in from a meeting and saw your mail."

"Okay," Harry could understand Frederick's calling him now. He sat up and got out of bed slowly, in order not to disturb Anita.

"So you're telling me that Matt and Louisa are engaged?" Frederick asked him.

"Sorry, old friend," Harry told him. "Apparently, Matt visited her at in the hospital and at home while she was sick, and they hit it off. Matt's a Master's student at the University of Leeds, which I understand is quite close to the Musgroves' home. They saw each other all the time and Matt must be a faster worker than you are." Harry laughed.

"I still can't believe it," Frederick told him, "they're engaged!"

"If I didn't know any better, I would think you were somewhat jealous," Harry told him.

"Of course not," Frederick told him, "you know I don't think about Louisa like that."

"So the problem is?"

"Nothing, I hope that is the only news on the home front," Frederick told him.

"Well, you've only been gone a few weeks. If you stay away for at least ten more days, you'll find Anne engaged."

"What? Anne engaged? To whom?" Frederick couldn't quite hide the panic in this voice. 'Please don't say Frank, please don't say Frank.' The prayer must have fallen on deaf ears because Harry answered that it was to Frank that Anne would soon be engaged.

"Is that a fact?"Frederick pretended indifference.

Harry laughed, "If her sister Mary has anything to say about it, Anne is going to marry Frank Mosley, even before Henrietta and Charles get married."

"What's the rush?" Frederick couldn't help himself.

"Apparently Frank is Charles's new boss," Harry told him. "So the family sees it as a step in the right direction as far as the Elliots are concerned. And apparently they had dinner tonight and he had his grandmother's ring with him."

"They always have their eye on the ball," Frederick said. "It's been a long day, Harry; I'll talk to you later."

Frederick got off the phone and sat down in the chair looking out of the window. The view was breathtaking but it was lost on him. Anne Elliot was getting married to Frank Mosley. I should have talked to her when I had the chance. I should have said something.

000

Frank couldn't believe how easy it had been. He had given himself time - almost two weeks - to really see if Elizabeth was really worthy of his love and decided to propose to her. They met for dinner as they usually did and he decided to ask her; before he could even finish his proposal Elizabeth had accepted him.

Elizabeth looked at the ring on her finger, it was a bit smaller than she would have liked for sure, but it was a ring. She couldn't wait to see Anne's face in the morning when she told her that she was engaged; as for Mary and Aunt Stevie, they'd probably faint. That will teach them to ignore me. Daddy will be so pleased with me.

**Please tell me what you think. **


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Anne looked at Elizabeth in shock. "You're engaged to Frank Mosley?" 'Impossible,' she said to herself silently. Anne had always known that Elizabeth had always wanted to have one up on her, but getting engaged to Frank Mosley was going too far, even for Elizabeth.

Anne had been having her breakfast alone, as she usually did. No one else got up before ten in the Elliot household, but over the past two weeks Elizabeth had been leaving the house as early as Anne and even joined her for breakfast sometimes. Something was really going on.

Elizabeth helped herself to tea and toast and sat down to join her sister.

"It was love at first sight," she said.

Anne snorted, "Doesn't that mean that you fall in love with someone the first you see them?"

Elizabeth smiled triumphantly, "Of course it does. That's what happened with me and Frank. We instantly fell in love."

"Don't take this the wrong way, but we've known Frank for over five years; you've never exchanged so much as a greeting, and now suddenly you're in love with him?"

"I knew you'd be jealous, Anne," Elizabeth told her, "but don't worry, I'm sure there's someone out there for you. Just be patient like I was. It was quite sudden, I bumped into him the day you filled in for me at _Helping Children_ and we've been dating ever since. He proposed yesterday evening. It was very romantic."

'So that's what's been going on,' Anne thought, 'somehow Elizabeth had known about Frank's return and his possible interest in her. No wonder Frank had stopped calling me every day.'

"Well I am happy for you. Congratulations. When is the wedding?"

"I have to meet the parents first. He's coming over today to see Daddy, and over the weekend we're off to Europe to see his parents."

Elizabeth had sent Mary and Aunt Stevie messages to join them for breakfast.

"This had better good," Mary announced as she walked in, "I have a hair appointment." She poured herself a cup of tea and helped herself to cake. Aunt Stevie arrived behind her and they sat down to hear the news.

"So Elizabeth, what is this important news that has you up before ten o'clock?" Aunt Stevie asked her.

"Wait for Daddy; I want you all to hear it at once."

Mr. Elliot came down to join them with a bottle of champagne. He smiled at his eldest daughter.

"I called you all here morning, to share my good news." She paused, and then put out her hand and said, "I'm getting married."

Mary shouted and quickly stood up and hugged her sister while examining the ring. Aunt Stevie also did the same while Mr. Eliot smiled as though he had engineered the whole engagement. Anne watched them, waiting for the bombshell.

Finally the women settled down and Aunt Stevie asked, "So who is this mystery suitor? Paul Holland? Peter Sutton?" Those were the men Elizabeth had been going out with for the past few months.

Elizabeth said nothing.

"Not those two?" Mary asked, "A new mysterious gentleman. Elizabeth, just tell us, it's too early for guessing games."

"You're looking at the soon-to-be Mrs. Frank Mosley."

"What?" Mary and Aunt Stevie said together.

Elizabeth nodded.

"You're engaged to Frank? Surely there's some sort of mistake." Mary said.

Aunt Stevie walked over to Elizabeth and said, "Beth dear, you're not making any sense. You're engaged to Frank? You do know that he's interested in Anne, this is no time for joking."

Anne looked at them and stood up to leave. "I guess this is my cue to go to work. Congratulations again, Elizabeth."

Mary and Auntie Stevie couldn't believe that Elizabeth wasn't lying to them. They asked her over and over to explain it to them. Had Frank been lying to them all this time? Pretending that he was interested in Anne when he was interested in Elizabeth? It made no sense.

Frank came by the house and he explained the whole thing.

"Over the past week, it all finally made sense what I'd been looking for all this time. Elizabeth is everything I want."

Aunt Stevie left after a few minutes. 'Poor Anne, she's been upstaged by Elizabeth again. I must go to her and comfort her.'

0000

Mary left and went to Charles's office.

"Charles you'll never believe what has happened." Charles didn't even bother to try and guess he knew Mary would tell him soon enough.

"Elizabeth is engaged to Frank Mosley."

"Our Elizabeth? And our Frank Mosley? Engaged to each other?" Charles couldn't believe it. 'When had that happened?'

"I thought you told me just the other week that Frank was going to propose to Anne? You saw the ring, remember?"

"Of course I did. And now I'm telling you that that ring is on Elizabeth's hand." Mary told him. She didn't know whether to be happy or sad, she loved weddings and her sister was getting married. Well, at least Frank was still going to be part of the family; Charles's promotion was still secure.

Too bad about Anne, but then Anne had never been interested in Frank. Truthfully, she'd never seen Elizabeth and Frank talk to each other before today, but Elizabeth was getting married and Frank was richer than both Louisa's and Henrietta's fiancées. We're going to have three weddings in the family. Suddenly Mary was happy; she had three weddings to plan for life was good.

She hurried home; she had news to share with sisters - in -law.

0000

Louisa shared the engagement news with Matt who told his cousin Harry. Harry wasted no time in writing to Frederick.

Frederick sat in his hotel and looked at the email from Harry, it was entitled _You're never going to believe this_. He dreaded opening it and after staring at it for almost five minutes he opened it.

_**You're never going to believe this** to me_

_Dear Fred,_

_What a time it has been for drama. It turns out that Frank Mosley is indeed going to be joining the Elliot family._

At this sentence Frederick stopped reading the email. 'I need to prepare myself for the long dreaded news.'

_Frank Mosley is engaged to __**Elizabeth Elliot**__. How's that for a surprise. Mary told Louisa who told Matt who told me, but anyway it seems Mary is very excited at the prospect of three weddings in the family in one year. She's running around like a headless chicken._

_No one really knows how Anne is, but I hope she is fine._

_Anita sends her greetings._

_Harry._

All Frederick could think about was that Anne was free. She's free, now I can make my move, make up for all the times I ignored her. Closely following that thought was the thought that she'd just had her heart broken by her sister. She needs comfort and real friends around her now. I haven't been a friend to her, but I can start now. This is my time to be a friend to Anne.

Thankfully his work was finished at this end, he could go home. He could go home and be with Anne.

0000

Aunt Stevie went to see Anne at her office and found that Anne was not heartbroken; in fact, from her conversation it seemed as if she'd never thought of Frank Mosley as a potential boyfriend let alone husband. She was fine and very happy for Elizabeth.

"Come on, Anne," Aunt Stevie, "he was your almost-boyfriend, surely you feel betrayed at the very least."

"He was a friend who asked me out and I never accepted. He loves Elizabeth and they are getting married, I'm happy for them."

Aunt Stevie left bewildered, she didn't understand Anne at all sometimes. But on the bright side, Elizabeth was getting married to a wealthy man. The Elliot financial problems were certainly going to reduce.

0000

Frederick entered the library in a hurry. After having worked so hard over the past few weeks and not even had time to pick up a novel, he was excited to have time to catch up on his reading. The books he'd been waiting for had arrived.

He smiled at the woman behind the desk and handed over his card.

"Mr. Wentworth, you've been away awhile. We were about to give up on you."

"It's good to see that you haven't."

She went behind and came back with ten books. He went to the checkout counter and the books were packed for him.

He got his books turned to left. He thought of going home and starting on the reading but decided to go to his favourite coffee place, _Tina's Place_.

_Tina's Place_ was a café that served coffee, tea and other beverages with sandwiches, cakes and other pastries. Frederick called it his coffee place but this was a misnomer since he preferred tea to coffee. It was a place he could sit for hours; I'll start my reading there and then continue at home. He had the whole day off but was due in court the day after that.

0000

He was well into his novel and on his third cup of tea when something distracted him. He looked up and saw Anne walking around the room looking for a seat. All the tables were occupied and he was about the only person in the room who had three chairs to himself. He saw her consider the other tables and reject them; then her eyes landed on his table and then on him.

He could see her considering whether to join another, or leave the place and then she squared her shoulders and he knew she had decided to join him. Frederick was so excited; he couldn't help the smile that covered his face.

"Anne," he said, standing up to help her into a chair.

"Frederick, how are you?" she asked him.

They smiled at each other and then "I didn't know - ," Anne said, while Frederick began, "It's been a while - ."

"You first, "Frederick told Anne.

"I was just going to say that I didn't know that you were back. Mary told me that you had gone to the States on business."

Frederick nodded, wondering if Anne had been asking about him and what that meant.

"Actually, I just returned this morning, and decided to hang out at my favourite coffee place."

"It's my favourite tea place." Anne told him, "I'm surprised we've never run into each other before."

Anne's tea was brought and they kept silent while she poured herself a cup and she began to eat.

"It seems your family is going to have quite a number of weddings this year," Frederick told her, watching her closely.

Anne smiled, "Mary is over the moon. Three weddings and she's appointed herself chief planner of all three."

"I don't know how to bring this up without seeming indelicate but, I was surprised to hear that Elizabeth was going to marry Frank Mosley. I thought _he was your_ boyfriend."

"I thought Louisa was _your _girlfriend," Anne fired back.

"Touché." Frederick told her.

"Louisa is nice girl and would make a great wife for a lucky man; that man isn't me. I believe she and Matt will be very happy, they're very alike."

"Yes," Anne agreed, "I believe they will be very happy."

"And your sister, Elizabeth, will she be happy do you think?"

Anne was silent for a while and then she broke into a wide smile, "She'll make a better wife for Frank than I could ever hope to have been."

"So you thought about marrying Frank then?" Frederick asked.

"What? No. Of course not." She burst out laughing. Her laughter was infectious and soon Frederick was laughing with her. "Don't get me wrong, Frank's a good man but a bit boring, and he does like to show off. In that sense, I believe they'll make each other happy."

Frederick wanted to ask Anne if she was really okay with her sister marrying a man who had shown interest in her, and for all intents and purposes had been her boyfriend, but he couldn't find the words. He hoped that she was really fine.

"You should see them," Anne told him, "planning the wedding and where they're going to live. Elizabeth insists that Frank's house is too small; it has seven bedrooms. She wants more servants and two indoor pools. Lucky for her, he's foolish enough and rich enough to do those things. Their wedding must outshine Louisa's and Henrietta's in every way, so it's a huge undertaking. I have to be a bridesmaid because Louisa and Henrietta had me to be one of theirs now. On the bright side, Daddy's happy, his Elizabeth is getting married."

Frederick took her hands in his and smiled at her. "It will be fine, I promise."

"I know," Anne told him, "it's just Aunt Stevie follows me around saying sorry, and that I shouldn't be angry with Frank and Elizabeth, Mary tells me that I better find a bloke soon, how can Louisa and Henrietta and even Elizabeth get married before I do, that I am a failure of some sort for not having a fiancé. As for Frank and Elizabeth, they pity me. Frank actually had the nerve to tell me that if I hadn't been acting so-high-and-mighty, it'd be our wedding that we'd be planning now. Elizabeth thinks it's some game she's won and my father told me to ask Elizabeth to take me shopping, 'have one of those makeovers like we see on the telly,' to make me more attractive."

Frederick stood up and took her into his arms, "It will be fine." He told her again.

They were still hugging when Claire walked in; when she saw them she almost jumped with joy.

Anne spotted her friend and got out of Frederick's embrace. She'd forgotten that they were supposed to meet. Claire joined them and they talked until late.

The next morning, Frederick asked Anne out to lunch, and that began a pattern for the next few weeks. Frederick and Anne would have lunch, dinner, catch a film and take walks; mostly alone but sometimes Claire and her boyfriend would join them.

0000

The wedding dates had finally been agreed upon and everything was booked and paid for. Elizabeth was getting married first, on a Thursday, Louisa and Henrietta were having a double wedding on a Saturday a week later. Frederick was attending as Anne's date and her life was perfect.

On the day of the last dress fitting, Anne left the shop and saw Frederick walking with a beautiful woman down the street. She raised her hand in greeting but he hadn't seen her. She wondered who the woman was, probably an acquaintance from work.

Frederick called later that day to cancel their dinner date, something had come up, he said.

Anne was in her room watching a DVD when Elizabeth burst in, "Anne, I thought you had a date with lover boy," she said sourly. Elizabeth couldn't believe that Frederick was interested in her sister, and if she could have broken off her engagement and gone for him she would have, but the Mosley money was such a big temptation and his parents held the strings tightly, she couldn't afford to mess around. Still she could have some fun.

"It didn't take long for your Mr. Wentworth to get tired of you," Elizabeth told Anne.

Anne knew that she should keep her mouth shut and not give Elizabeth the satisfaction of getting a rise out of her but she couldn't help herself, "Elizabeth, just say what you came to say."

"His ex-wife is in town. I'm sure you've seen her, the lovely Angelina Hurt. I heard that she wants him back."

Anne didn't say anything. So that was the ex; she was beautiful and dressed well. She's the reason he broke off the date.

"I don't think you can compete with her. I'd give up if I were you."

"Thankfully, you're not me," Anne told her sister.

"Don't say that you weren't warned. That man was always too good for you, pity he never knew it until now."

"Is that all you had to say?" Anne asked Elizabeth.

"No, darling, Frank and I have a double date with Frederick and Angelina tonight."

Elizabeth swept out of the room. Anne couldn't believe it, Frederick hadn't told her, and he'd lied to her, why? Why couldn't he have just told her the truth?


	7. Chapter 7

**Thank you for reading, reviewing and adding to favourites. Thank you very much.**

**Special thanks go to Miriam1, thank you, thank you, thank you.**

Chapter Seven

Anne didn't believe Elizabeth; she was probably just jealous and up to her old tricks, but she called Claire and they followed them to the restaurant and saw Frederick arrive with Angie.

The next morning Frederick called her, but she didn't take his calls; she'd had enough of the lies and games. It was time to _really_ move on.

000

Elizabeth and Frank's wedding day was bright and sunny and they woke early and dressed. Elizabeth's dress was an old regency style that really suited her and she looked very beautiful and very happy. Anne and the other bridesmaids wore deep maroon dresses which suited them very well, surprisingly; Elizabeth had been very generous. The church was their old church, where they'd been baptized and confirmed. The Rolls-Royce picked them from home on time and the ceremony went off without a hitch.

It was a garden reception, and the Chester Hotel gardens had been decorated very well with flowers of all sorts. It was an afternoon reception; the bride and groom had a plane to catch at 5 pm.

Frederick arrived at the reception with Harry and Anita; he'd wanted to miss the whole event but as Harry had told him, it was the surest way to see Anne, since she wasn't talking to him.

The speeches begun, they had lunch and then it was time to cut the cake. After the cutting of the cake, the wedding became less formal and people began to move from table to table. Frederick had been seated at a table with some of Frank's relatives who had ignored him the whole time. He went in search of Harry and Anita.

Anne had been fully aware of Frederick from the time he'd arrived. When she hadn't seen him at church, she'd been both relieved and unhappy. She saw him at Frank's cousins' table and he hadn't exchanged a word with anyone at all. He had looked around and seen her, of course; she was at the high table after all. When the dancing begun she saw him go to the Harvilles who had been seated three tables away from him.

Anne left the high table; she was the only one of the bridal party who wasn't dancing. She looked for Claire and went and sat with her.

"I saw Frederick arrive." Claire told her.

"Of course, he was invited." Anne replied.

"You know what I mean, he arrived alone." Claire told her friend. Anne nodded, she'd wondered about that as well.

"He could have brought her." Claire said.

"Maybe she doesn't like afternoon weddings," Anne said.

"Maybe they're not together." Claire retorted.

"You know what we saw." Anne reminded her, "They were together."

"Yes, at a restaurant, for one night, eating with Frank and Elizabeth. Have they been out together since, do you even know?"

"I don't know and I don't care." Anne was tired of the conversation; they had variations of it every time they met. Claire was always urging her to talk to Frederick, find out what was really going on and Anne always refused.

Anne stood up and Claire followed her to a deserted corner.

"All I'm saying, Anne, is that you should give the guy a chance to explain himself, just a few minutes."

Anne smiled at her friend. "Don't you ever wonder what's wrong with us?"

"What do you mean?" Claire asked.

"Men easily forget they move on quickly from one person to the next, with no care, no feelings, no damage to their hearts. But not us, we hold on, we care and that is our undoing."

"Not all women are like you, Anne." Claire pointed out. "And not all men are like that."

Anne nodded. It was true, but she was feeling too much to be silent about it. She needed to vent.

"That's the worst thing about it. I met him and suddenly my life became brighter. He left me, married and I couldn't even do that, it was like I was in some sort of limbo. He came back, and we sort of worked it out in spite of the whole Louisa and Frank incidents, and then the wife came back, he went back to her of course and now look at me, I - ." Anne stopped talking.

Frederick had somehow materialized in front of them.

"I'm sorry I startled you." He said.

Claire and Anne looked at each other and then at him. Frederick took that as an invitation to talk.

"Anne, there you are." Aunt Stevie was half running, "We have been looking for you." She turned and said, "Mary I found her."

'Great, just great.' Anne thought.

Mary appeared with William, Frank's cousin. Mary and Stevie had been trying to set her with him since he had arrived a few days ago.

Frederick excused himself. He would have to find another time to talk to Anne.

000

That evening Frederick was sitting with Harry and then he got an idea. He would write her an email, explain everything. 'I should have thought of this earlier.' He got up and got his laptop.

.org to me

_Dear Anne,_

_I cannot go on without speaking to you by any means necessary. Your words pierced my soul; I am in agony yet hopeful. Please tell me that I am not too late, that I lost your love forever._

_I was resentful, angry, and weak and acted like a complete fool but my feelings for you never changed. I have never loved another, not even Angie whom I married on the rebound and had to see again because of some business deal. I didn't even think about it at all until Elizabeth made some insinuating remarks about me dumping you for her._

_You're the reason I am here. I don't know what to write, everything I've heard just makes me love you even more than I ever did._

_Please give me a chance to explain properly. One chance, if after that you never want to see me again, I will respect you wishes._

_Frederick._

He sent it before he could change his mind. It was all up to her now.

000

Anne read the email and didn't know what to think. Frederick loved her, he had always loved her. She began to compose a reply and then changed her mind. She picked up her phone, to call him but decided it wouldn't do at all. She needed to see him now, but felt couldn't just show up at his flat. It was well after midnight.

In the morning, she walked to _Tina's Place_, to think.

Frederick had been sitting in _Tina's Place_ since it had opened at 6 am, waiting for an appropriate hour to call on Anne. He looked up and saw Anne enter the room, and stood up.

"You came," were his first words.

She nodded and sat down.

"So did you mean those things that you wrote?" she asked him.

"Of course I did. I have never loved anyone but you."

"Really? That's how you treat people you love?"

He took her hands in his. "I'm just a man, not perfect. Eight years ago, Elizabeth told me that the most amazing girl I had ever met was just talking to me as part of an experiment. I met and married another woman who really didn't like me at all and turned me into a workaholic. Then we met again; to my chagrin I discovered that I was petty and stupid. I flirted with Louisa, to show you that I was over you and that almost backfired on me, and was jealous of Frank. You can't imagine how many times I wanted to hit him. Thankfully, that ended, and then Angie returned, and it was just for work. I didn't mention it because it was work, and like I told you, I thought nothing of it until Elizabeth told me that she could see why I was dumping you for Angie."

He looked at Anne waiting for her to say something, anything to show him that she had forgiven him.

"So you love me, huh?" she asked him smiling.

"Only you."

"That's good, because I don't think I could bear to share you with anyone.'

One year later

Mr. Elliot and Aunt Stevie sat in the sitting room, waiting for the Elliot girls and their spouses and children to arrive.

"William, God had been very good to us. All our girls are married." Aunt Stevie said.

"Yes, even Anne, and the whole money situation dealt with." William replied. "I always knew Elizabeth loved me more than her sisters did, and she proved it."

"Elizabeth and Mary are very responsible daughters; they care about the Elliot name a great deal, but Anne does her part as well."

"Are you serious? That girl would have had me let this house to raise the money." William wasn't smiling anymore.

"That seemed like the most sensible solution at the time. Luckily, everything worked out otherwise."

"Thanks to Elizabeth and Frank."

Frank had taken care of his father-in-law's financial situation, and now William was even thinking of buying himself a new car and redecorating the house, and he was planning a trip.

"It's at times like these that I really miss Elizabeth, we'd have been planning our holiday. This year it was to be Hong Kong or Japan."

"You could always go with just me." Aunt Stevie told him.

"We're sorry we're late." Mary said, bursting into the room. "The traffic was murder." She was followed by Charles who was carrying their son, William.

Elizabeth and Frank arrived soon afterwards; Elizabeth was heavily pregnant and was unhappy about leaving sunny France to be in England – all for a family get together. She did miss her father though, she hadn't seen him in a month which is why she'd come.

"Frederick called, they'll be late." Charles informed them.

"We'll just have to start without them." Elizabeth said.

0000

Frederick entered the house in a rush. He was late; he and Anne had a get-together at the Elliot house. He had told Anne that he would be home an hour ago. He had been against going from the start, but Anne was insistent; they would see her family.

Now he tried again. "Wouldn't you rather spend the afternoon with your dashingly handsome and witty husband? I've got the afternoon off. We could go dancing, even visit that centre you're always talking about," he pulled her from the bed where she was sitting and kissed her.

"As tempting as that sounds," she smiled at him, "I still think we should go."

"Why? Those people don't even like us very much. Elizabeth would probably kill us if she could, and as for your father, he told me that I was a very undeserving son-in-law the last time we met."

"You had just refused to buy him a new car, he's shallow that way."

Frederick hugged his wife and started planting kisses on her neck. "Maybe I was too hasty in making that decision; he is your father after all. Without him, I wouldn't have you."

"That is very true." Anne told him.

"You really don't want to go to this thing, do you?" Anne asked him a few minutes later.

"No, I don't. But they are your family, and I would do anything for you so I will get ready and we will get going." He pulled her into the bathroom with him.

"Hon, I'm already dressed." Anne told him.

"You're going to owe me big for this," Frederick told Anne, "very big. Consider this a down payment."

"Will I be able to pay the whole amount, do you think?" Anne asked him.

"If you can't, I'll just add it to what you already owe me." Frederick replied.

"That doesn't sound so bad," Anne told him. They had a book were they kept score of their favours; so far, Anne owed Frederick over a hundred thousand points.

"So you remember how I told you that I haven't been feeling too good?" Anne asked Frederick.

"Uh, huh."

"Turns out that you're going to be a father in about seven months."

Anne and Frederick turned up at the Elliot house three hours later.

End.

_Thank you for reading,_

_xxxx_


End file.
